Pirelli: Press Release ..

2013 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying

by Pirelli — Sat, 25 May 2013 16:56:23 +0000

MERCEDES ONE-TWO AT THRILLING MONACO QUALIFYING

Monaco, May 25, 2013 – Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has claimed his third consecutive pole position – an achievement never matched by his 1982 world champion father Keke, who won in Monaco 30 years ago – using the P Zero Red supersoft tyre, which is nominated with the P Zero Yellow soft this weekend. Rosberg’s time of 1m13.876s was nearly half a second quicker than last year’s pole time – set by Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes – and marked the fourth pole in a row for the team, after a thrilling session.

A sprinkling of rain half an hour before the start of Q1 meant that the track was damp for the first time all weekend. All the drivers started the opening session on the Cinturato Green intermediate tyre as the rain fell harder, before easing off in the closing minutes. The fastest driver in Q1 was Williams driver Pastor Maldonado, on the intermediate, while Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde also used the intermediate to take his team into Q2 for the first time this year.

The rain continued in Q2, meaning that intermediates were once more the obvious choice. With just under five minutes to go the drivers began to switch to supersoft slick tyres, led by van der Garde. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was the fastest of the Q2 drivers on the supersoft, with a time set right at the end of the session.

The Q3 session was the only one where drivers were able to use slicks from the start, with all of them heading out on the supersoft. Pole position was decided in the closing seconds, with Rosberg taking pole from his team mate Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg completed his domination of all the free practice sessions held at Monaco this year after going quickest by seven-tenths of a second in FP3 this morning on the P Zero Red supersoft.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “Qualifying got off to a tricky start as the drivers were immediately confronted with wet conditions for the first time all weekend in Q1, making it difficult to judge the amount of grip available – particularly as some parts of the circuit were much wetter than others. Generally we saw that the track got a lot quicker as each session went on, making the timing of each qualifying run absolutely crucial. As usual track position will be the key to a good result here tomorrow, but there is always scope to use a creative strategy to move further up the order. However, if the uncertain conditions continue tomorrow then the strategies will be blown wide open. We’re still expecting to see more track evolution over the course of the weekend. Whether or not the drivers opt for one or two stops will depend on the speed of their cars and the track position they can maintain; we’re not expecting wear or degradation to be a significant issue. Congratulations to Mercedes for a one-two on the grid; it will be interesting to see what they do with their strategies as they aim to convert this result into a race win.”

The Pirelli mystery strategy predictor:

At Monaco, the strategy has to be very flexible in order to maintain track position and react to the high probability of a safety car at some point.

But theoretically, a two-stop strategy is quickest: start on the supersoft, change to the soft on lap 20 and soft again on lap 49.

An alternative strategy is a one-stopper, starting on the supersoft and moving to the soft on lap 36.

Another approach would be to start on the soft and change to the supersoft on lap 42.

Fastest compounds in FP3:

1.	Rosberg	1m14.378s	Supersoft New
2.	Grosjean	1m15.039s	Supersoft New
3.	Vettel	1m15.261s	Soft New

Top 10 tyre use:

Rosberg	Supersoft	1m13.876s
Hamilton	Supersoft	1m13.967s
Vettel	Supersoft	1m13.980s
Webber	Supersoft	1m14.181s
Raikkonen	Supersoft	1m14.822s
Alonso	Supersoft	1m14.824s
Perez	Supersoft	1m15.138s
Sutil	Supersoft	1m15.383s
Button	Supersoft	1m15.647s
Vergne	Supersoft	1m15.703s

2013 Monaco Grand Prix – Practice Sessions

by Pirelli — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:16:42 +0000

ON COURSE FOR A TWO-STOP RACE

Monaco, May 23, 2013 – Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has gone fastest in both the free practice sessions at Monaco today, setting fastest time in the morning on the P Zero Yellow soft tyre, and then going fastest again in the afternoon, this time using the Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft. His fastest time of 1m14.759s in FP2 was nearly one second faster than the equivalent time last year.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “With Monaco always being one of the circuits that has the most noticeable degree of track evolution during the weekend throughout the year, it’s hard to draw many firm conclusions from the first two free practice sessions, although there is already some idea of the pecking order. So far we’re seeing a difference of up to a second per lap between the two compounds, which is in line with our expectations at this point, but we would expect that gap to come down as the weekend goes on. More rubber going onto the track over the weekend also means that the cars will slide less: that in turn slows down the rate of wear and degradation even more – which is never especially high at Monaco anyway. So far, we’d say that the teams are on course to make two stops during the race – one seems very possible too – but we’ll have a much better picture after qualifying on Saturday, which is when we can make a more accurate forecast in representative track conditions. We saw today that as usual, traffic will play a key role in setting a quick time at Monaco, but the rapid warm-up time of the supersoft compound allows the cars to get up to speed very quickly and maximise their one-lap pace.”

Fastest tyre of the day:

FP1:			FP2:
1. Rosberg	1m16.195s	Soft Used	1. Rosberg	1m14.759s	Supersoft New
2. Alonso	1m16.282s	Soft Used	2. Hamilton	1m15.077s	Supersoft New
3. Grosjean	1m16.380s	Soft Used	3. Alonso	1m15.196s	Supersoft Used

Tyre statistics of the day:

	Soft	Supersoft	Intermediate	Wet
kms driven *	3,152	1,566	N/A	N/A
sets used overall **	51	25	N/A	N/A
highest number of laps **	33	30	N/A	N/A

* The above number gives the total amount of kilometres driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.

May the Force be with you:

Max. g-force braking (longitudinal force): -4.26 @ T1
Max. g-force cornering (lateral force): 4.55 @ T3

Pirelli fact of the day:

The race has only been won from outside the top three in qualifying on 10 occasions since 1950. On most of these occasions, wet weather intervened to mix up the order. The forecast for Saturday is currently dry. The lowest grid position the Monaco Grand Prix has ever been won from is 14^th.

Monaco Grand Prix Preview : Monte Carlo, 23-26 May 2013

by Pirelli — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:10:04 +0000

P ZERO YELLOW SOFT AND P ZERO RED SUPERSOFT FOR MONACO

Milan, May 20, 2013 – As has been the case for the last two years, the P Zero Yellow soft and P Zero Red supersoft have been nominated for the Monaco Grand Prix: the two softest tyres in Pirelli’s range. Monaco is the slowest and most twisty circuit on the calendar, where it is hard to overtake, so this makes rapid warm-up and high levels of mechanical grip from the tyres essential. Nonetheless, wear and degradation is also the lowest of the year: meaning that a maximum of two pit stops per car should be the norm. Unlike every other grand prix, free practice takes place on Thursday rather than Friday, which has a consequent effect on track evolution – as the track is still open to normal traffic at certain points during the grand prix weekend. In the past it has also rained at Monaco, meaning that the Cinturato Green intermediate and Cinturato Blue wet tyres could also come into play.

Paul Hembery: “In Monaco we’d expect an average of two pit stops per car, because in complete contrast to the last race at Barcelona, Monaco has very low tyre wear and degradation. This doesn’t make the race any less strategic however, as in the past we have seen drivers trying completely different strategies yet ending up very close to each other at the finish. The last race in Spain was won from lower down on the grid than it has ever been won before, so it will be interesting to see if this pattern can repeat itself in Monaco: a track that is renowned for being difficult to overtake on. Because of this, strategy will become even more important than usual, with teams trying to use tactics to improve on their starting positions.”

Jean Alesi: “Monaco is a circuit that I’ve always absolutely loved: I think I’ve been on the podium three times, set two fastest race laps, and in my first race there I finished second, behind Ayrton Senna. My first taste of the Monaco circuit was actually with Pirelli, when I was driving for Tyrrell in 1990 and we had qualifying tyres. Driving on them was so much fun and the whole place is simply magical. When you were out on a qualifying lap the crowd used to just erupt…Qualifying as high up the grid as you can is important, but maybe not quite as important as it used to be. We’ve seen many times this year that the race is much more important, and with a good strategy you can overcome a grid position that is not so good. So even if qualifying isn’t perfect there is still the opportunity to do something special and that is a big advantage that Pirelli has brought to Formula One. Tyre wear and degradation is low in Monaco but it is still something you have to think about because the circuit gains massively in grip over the course of the weekend: perhaps more than anywhere else all year. You always use the soft tyres at Monaco so you can push hard, which is a great feeling.”

The circuit from a tyre point of view:

So far, there have been no safety car periods during the 2013 season. The tight confines of Monaco, with its never-ending Armco and very little run-off means that this is statistically likely to change. Along with Singapore, Korea and Canada, Monaco has one of the highest probabilities of safety car deployment all year, at around 80%. This will clearly have a profound effect on the race strategy.

The top 10 finishers last year all employed a one-stop strategy, stopping at about the lap 30 mark. All but two of them started the race on the supersoft tyre and then moved onto the soft.

The Monte Carlo Grand Prix track has a record number of ‘leasts’ – as well as being the slowest track of the year, the surface is also the least abrasive of the whole season.

Further information on Monaco and the demands it places on the tyres, as well as information about how the compounds are selected for each grand prix, can be found on a 3D animated video starring Pirelli’s Racing Manager Mario Isola. This is copyright-free for media use on Pirelli’s Formula One website: www.pirelli.com/f1pressarea

Technical tyre notes:

Monaco is particularly heavy on brakes. This transmits heat to the tyres, which adds to the stress placed on the tyre structure. Entering Sainte Devote, for example, the cars scrub off 160kph in just 100 metres. The tyres also have extremely big demands placed on them in the swimming pool complex, where they hit the kerbs at more than 200kph and experience lateral forces of 3.65g.

The driver makes over 130 significant steering inputs during every lap at the Monaco Grand Prix, changing gear on average every 50 metres. All of these actions work the tyres extremely hard.

The Loews hairpin is the slowest corner of the season, taken at just 47kph. Due to the low speed there is no aerodynamic downforce at work, so the full steering lock means that the front-right tyre is doing all the work when it comes to changing direction.

The tyre choices so far:

	PZero Red	PZero Yellow	PZero White	PZero Orange
Australia	Supersoft		Medium
Malesia			Medium	Hard
Cina		Soft	Medium
Bahrain			Medium	Hard
Spagna			Medium	Hard
Monaco	Supersoft	Soft

Meet the Pirelli F1 Team: Tina Vajanszki – tyre fitter

Tina, one of Pirelli’s 18 tyre fitters, is British although her family background is from Hungary. When she’s not at races she is based at Pirelli’s United Kingdom logistics hub at Didcot and lives in Derbyshire. She has been a tyre fitter since 2006 and has worked with Pirelli since the Italian firm entered Formula One in 2011. Having studied mechanical engineering at Birmingham Polytechnic, she started her F1 career driving trucks, going to every European Formula One race from 2004 onwards, but then moved into tyres.

Her role as a fitter is extremely varied. On arrival at the circuit her first job is to allocate the correct tyres to the corresponding rims of each team, following the list of barcodes that is supplied by the FIA (which ensures that Pirelli has no influence in which tyres go to each team). She then checks each bar code with the help of a bar code reader, the data from which is later fed into Pirelli’s Race Tyre System.

Once the tyres are allocated, her duties consist of helping one of Pirelli’s race engineers, with whom she works closely, during each session and checking tyres afterwards. When she is back at base in Didcot the work is mainly preparing the F1, GP2 and GP3 tyres as well as associated equipment for the next event.

Away from Formula One her interests include running (which also keeps her fit for what is a very physically demanding job) and motorcycling. She is a keen supporter of football club Sheffield United, attending home and away fixtures when time permits.

Other news from Pirelli:

The third round of the Italian Rally Championship took place the weekend before the Monaco Grand Prix, the Rally dell’Adriatico. Pirelli-equipped driver Umberto Scandola won the event in his factory Skoda Fabia S2000.

Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, who won three titles with Pirelli from 2008-2010, will also be at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend, competing in the Porsche Supercup.

Pirelli recently celebrated the 50^th anniversary of Lamborghini with a special press conference and reception at the Italian tyre firm’s headquarters in Milan. The very first production Lamborghini, the 1963 350 GTV, was launched on Pirelli tyres and Pirelli has supplied original equipment for Lamborghini ever since.

HEMBERY: “PIRELLI WILL PROVIDE THE TEAMS WITH A NEW RANGE OF TYRES MIXING THE STABILITY OF 2012 AND THE PERFORMANCE OF 2013”

by Pirelli — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:42:15 +0000

Milan, May 14, 2013 – This year’s Pirelli P Zero Formula One tyre range will change from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards, using a revised construction.

The move follows the Spanish Grand Prix, which had four pit stops per driver. The new range will combine elements from the 2012 and 2013 tyres to have both durability and performance.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “Our aim is to provide the teams with a new range which mixes the stability of the 2012 tyres and the performance of the current ones. As a company, we have always moved quickly to make improvements where we see them to be necessary. After evaluating data from the first few races this year, we’ve decided to introduce a further evolution as it became clear at the Spanish Grand Prix that the number of pit stops was too high. The Spanish Grand Prix was won with four pit stops, which has only happened once before in our history. These changes will also mean that the tyres are not worked quite as hard, reducing the number of pit stops.”

With limited testing time, it’s clear now that our original 2013 tyre range was probably too performance-orientated for the current regulations. However, having identified this issue, we’re determined to rapidly resolve it. It’s worth underlining that the current regulations for winter tests limit the opportunity to test the tyres under the same conditions as the race season because of the lower temperature and restricted time. The Teams are of the same opinion as we are in wanting longer testing times and different locations for the next tests. We developed the 2013 tyres on the basis of careful simulations that were, however, not sufficient, taking into account the improved speed of cars (up to 3 seconds per lap).

We’ve also taken this step to avoid the delaminations that were caused by track debris. It’s important to point out that these delaminations, which occur when the tread comes off, do not compromise the safety of the tyres as the core structure of the tyre is not affected in any way, helping drivers to complete the lap and to change the damaged tyres safely. These delaminations were due to damage from debris that overheated the tread. We’d like to thank all the teams for their continued and extremely valued support as we worked with them to identify the correct compromise between the pure speed that makes us the world leader in the Ultra High Performance sector and a global spectacle that is easy for Formula One fans to follow.”

PIRELLI & C. SPA SHAREHOLDERS’ MEETING

by Pirelli — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:57:37 +0000

• RESULTS FOR 2012 APPROVED

• DECISION TO DISTRIBUTE DIVIDENDS OF 0.32 EURO PER ORDINARY SHARE AND 0.39 EURO PER SAVINGS SHARE

• JEAN PAUL FITOUSSI, LUCA ROVATI AND CARLO SALVATORI NOMINATED TO BOARD

• AUTHORIZATION OF OWN SHARE BUY-BACK AND DISPOSITION APPROVED

• VOTE IN FAVOR OF REMUNERATION POLICY

The shareholders of Pirelli & C. SpA met today in ordinary session and approved results for 2012, which ended with a consolidated net profit of 398.2 million euro and parent group net profit of 234.4 million euro, deciding on the distribution of dividends of 0.32 euro per ordinary share and 0.39 euro per savings share. The dividend payment date is May 23rd, 2013 (ex-dividend date is May 20th and record date May 22nd, 2013).

Shareholders nominated Jean Paul Fitoussi (independent), Luca Rovati and Carlo Salvatori, already coopted into the Board in July 2012, until the term of the present Board ends, which is until the 2013 results are approved.

Shareholders also approved the authorization requested by the Board of Directors for the buy-back and disposition of own shares up to 10% of Company Capital and for a maximum period of 18 months, as well as some modifications to the bylaws in relation to the adoption of the discipline regarding gender balance within the administrative and control bodies of listed companies, and to put in motion the reception of new legal and regulatory dispositions.

Shareholders also expressed themselves in favour of the Company’s remuneration policy, with 98.6% of the voting capital.

It should be noted that documents relating to the 2012 results are available to the public at the Company’s headquarters in Milan at Viale Piero e Alberto Pirelli 25 and at o Borsa Italiana S.p.A. as well as at the Company’ website www.pirelli.com.

The minutes of the shareholders’ meeting will be available to the public in the same way by June 11th, 2013.

***

Consob, with a request formulated in accordance with art. 114, comma 5, TUF communicated on May 9th, 2013, invited the Company to provide shareholders, including them into the relative minutes and reporting them in the present Press Release, with the following information and news:

1. the description of the eventual verifications carried out in relation to the consistency of the real estate assets of Prelios S.p.A. (“Prelios”) taking into account that the reimbursement of the bond issue convertible into Prelios shares (“Convertible”), that will be issued in the context of the total operation aimed at the asset reinforcement, financial re-balancing and re-launch of the industrial activities of Prelios (“Operation”), depends of the value created by the activities themselves.

In this regard it should be noted that:

The verifications carried out with regard to the consistency of the real estate assets of Prelios were conducted in the context of the activities of financial due diligence carried out on Prelios. In particular, the asset situation on June 30th and September 30th, 2012 were examined and the information in detail on the company and the real estate funds in which it has stakes made available by Prelios in the data room, including the book value and an estimate of the market value of the assets. It should be noted that the asset situation on June 30th and September 30th, 2012 of Prelios examined by Pirelli & C. were subject to limited accounts auditing. It should be noted that the real estate assets are included on Prelios’s Strategic Plan, which constitutes one of the pillars one which the operation in question in founded, with the specific value enhancement of these assets for the purposes of disposal.

The estimate of the value of the disposals considered in the Prelios Strategic Plan takes into account the situation of relevant uncertainty of the real estate market and the expectations of a recovery only beginning from 2014, the period from which the main disposals will take place. These evaluations were also the object of testimony delivered on March 28, 2013 by the independent expert, in accordance with art. 67, comma 3, letter. d) Bankruptcy Law. In particular, the independent expert attested to the veracity of the company data and feasibility of the Prelios Strategic Plan, as well as the suitability of the same in pursuit of the goal of resolution of Prelios’s debt exposure and to ensure the re-balancing of its asset and financial situation.

It should be noted that, in the context of the agreements between the parties to the Operation, the execution of the same was predicated on the release of the aforementioned attestation.

2. The indication of the method of valuation adopted with regard to the inclusion in the consolidated accounts of the Company on December 31st, 2012 of credit of 173 million euro towards Prelios, given that the operation calls for the conversion of the financial credit in part into shares of Prelios and in part in the convertible instrument which matures a capitalized interest rate of 1% at maturity;

In this regard it should be noted that:

As stated in pages 170, 178 and 208 of the consolidated balance sheet, and on pages 273 and 285 of the results for the year ended December 31, 2012, the valuation of the financial credit towards Prelios, of 173 million euro, considers the hypothesis underlying the extraordinary operation, today in the execution phase aimed at the re-launching the outlook for industrial development and the asset and financial reinforcement of the group headed by Prelios S.p.A., as wel as the re-balancing of the overall financial structure. The operation calls for the conversion of financial credit in part into participations and in part into participatory instruments (cd Convertible), with a cash option in Prelios’s favour. The valuation effected on the basis of these assumptions does not does not highlight the need to bring write-downs for losses of value of the credit at the date of the balance sheet and has as its key assumption the positive conclusion of this operation.

In particular, the credit quota which will be converted in Prelios Shares at the end of the procedural course for the approval of the capital increase will call for the registering of the Prelios debentures at fair value; the fair value will correspond to the stock market price at the closing of the day on which the capital increase is finalized or the day after the operation, in any case post dilutive effects. The eventual difference between the book value of the credit and the value of the the Prelios debentures valued at fair value will be included in the balance sheet. In the valuation of the credit in the results to December 31st, 2012, it is estimated that, at the moment of conversion, the stock market price of the Prelios debenture will substantially reflect the subscription price of the capital increase, not creating therefore significant effects on the balance sheet.

In relation to the portion of credit that will be substituted by the Convertible instrument, it should be noted that the Convertible is an instrument that falls within the context of application of the IAS 39 (financial instruments: inclusion and valuation) and that, not originating “fixed or determinable payments”, it cannot be qualified as “credit”, but as an instrument representative of capital which will be designated as “financial activity at fair value included in the balance sheet”.

The Convertible calls for the conversion of Prelios debentures at a price equal to the higher between the subscription price of the capital increase (post regrouping 0.5953 Euro) and the market price (calculated, in the event that Prelios shares are listed on that date, as the weighted average of the official stock market prices of Prelios ordinary shares in the month prior to the date of conversion). Therefore:

- If the market price is higher than or equal to the subscription price of the capital increase, there will be no impact on the balance sheet;

- If instead the market price is lower that the subscription price of the capital increase, it will generate a loss on the balance sheet equal to the difference between the two prices.

In light of the above, in the valuation of December 31st, 2012 of the portion of credit destine to the Convertible, there were no losses of value in that, on the date of the approval of the results by the Board of Directors, and as confirmed also on the date of the present shareholders’ meeting, it is estimated, in light of the performance of Prelios Shares on the stock market, that the market price of the same on the date of exchange will not be below the subscription price of the capital increase, already defined today.

It should be noted, in conclusion, that the portion of interest of 1% which will mature on the Convertible will be capitalized to maturity. This interest can be resolved in Prelios shares, as will happen for the capital, on the date off maturation. Therefore, the greatest number of Prelios shares which will be received as a consequence of the interest will be included in the fair valuation of the already cited instruments representative of capital. This component will contribute to the variation of fair value of the instrument. The counterpart will be included in the balance sheet for each of the years following the inclusion of the same.

3. The description of the valuations regarding alternative hypotheses regarding the recoverability of the credit towards Prelios both in relation to the hypothesis of no operation of re-modulation of the financial debt of Prelios and in relation to the hypothesis of an eventual competitive procedure;

The analysis of the estimates of the recoverability of the credit of Pirelli & C. towards Prelios in the alternative scenarios f execution of the Operation show that the finalization of the Operation and the participation of Pirelli & C. are essential to allow Pirelli & C. to maximize the value of this credit.

Given that the Financing Banks would not have launched the Operation without the participation of Pirelli & C. as the significant creditor of Prelios and that the Operation resulted from a process of negotiation with Prelios, the Financing Banks and Feidos launched in July 2012, at the conclusion of a competition promoted by Prelios to find an industrial partner, it should be noted that, if there had been no re-modulation of the financial debt of Prelios (included the credit of Pirelli & C.) to sustainable levels, as contemplated in the Operation, there would not have been the concrete possibility of pursuing any other extraordinary operation for the equity and financial re-balancing of Prelios. In such a scenario, moreover, the basis for Prelios to continue as a going concern would have been immediately lacking, with inevitable consequences in terms of the insolvency of Prelios and the recurrence of the suppositions for the launch of competitive procedures, as had been announced many times by Prelios itself in company documents and, finally, in the minutes of the Board of Directors meeting which approved results for the year ended December 31st, 2012 and the intermediate results for the three months ended March 31st, 2013.

It is evident that in the hypothetical context of a competitive procedure, it appears evident that the expectations of recoverability of the credit would be gravely prejudiced by that scenario in terms both of time and percentage of realization.

Further, a deep analysis of the origins and evolution of Pirelli & C.’s credit (which will be made available to the public in the same ways as the information document for operations with related parties of April 3rd, 2013), there was a significant risk that the financial credit today held by Pirelli & C. towards Prelios could be considered subject to a regime of legal deferment as in arts. 2467 and 2497-quinquies cod. civ., in that derived, through various acts of renewal and modification, a financing conceded before the operation of separation of the real estate activities from those of the tyre sector (concluded in October 2010), when Pirelli & C. was still the controlling partner and exercised direction and control with regard to Pirelli RE & C. (today Prelios). Under this profile it is evident that, in the case of legal deferment, all recoverability of the credit of Pirelli & C. in a hypothetical competitive procedure of Prelios would be substantially compromised.

4. The description of the valuations carried out in regard to the existence in the interests of the Company and all stakeholders for the cited Operation, taking into account that the latter entails the outlay of “new funds” of 25.3 million euro.

The Board of Directors of Pirelli & C. ascertained the interest of the company and all stakeholders for the Operation on the supposition that the same, on the one hand, represents a necessary condition to ensure the continuity of Prelios as a going concern, in the absence of which the conditions for the launch of competitive procedure might have recurred, with evident prejudicial consequences for the time and values of recovery of credit and, on the other hand, offers, in the event of the achievement of the goals set in Prelios’ Strategic Plan, a perspective of full recovery of the credit of Pirelli & C. and the new funds brought within the context of the Operation in line with the valuations effected by all the Financing Banks of Prelios.

In particular, for the purposes of its own determinations, the Board of Directors of Pirelli & C. also:
- Evaluated the possibility of recovering the original credit in the hypothesis of a competitive procedure and in light of the risk of the legal illustrated before, deducing that, in this scenario, the expectations of recoverability would be gravely compromised;
- Ascertained the possibility of full recovery of the original credit and the new funds brought in the context of the Operation in the event of the achievement on the goals set in the Strategic Plan 2013-2016 prepared by the management of Prelios and attested on March 27th, 2013 by an independent expert in accordance with and as a consequence of the effects of art. 67, comma 3, lett. d), Bankruptcy Law;

With reference to the contribution of new funds, it should be noted that this contribution:
- Is an essential condition for the realization of the Operation under examination;
- Is carried out by Pirelli & C. and the other two main financial creditors of Prelios, in proportion to their credit positions towards Prelios;
- Represents 0.33% of the active consolidation of the Pirelli & C. group on December 31^st, 2012.

It should be noted, in conclusion, that the Operation in total, included the cited contribution of new funds, does not prejudice or contrast with the strategic direction of the Pirelli & C. group aimed at world leadership in the premium tyre segment.

* * *

Always at the request of Consob, (i) the Committee for Operations with Related Parties made available to Shareholders an addition of the information document on the operation aimed at the asset reinforcement, financial rebalancing and industrial re-launch of the activities of Prelios S.p.A. through the recapitalization of the same and the re-modulation of its total financial debt already published by the Company on April 3rd, 2013 and (ii) the Company has made available to Shareholders the opinion of the legal expert charged with the evaluation the possible qualifications regarding the nature of the Pirelli’s credit towards Prelios.

In that regard it should be noted that, as requested by Consob, today as already communicated, the addition to the cited Information Document, to which is attached the cited expert opinion on the possible qualifications on the nature ot Pirelli’s credit towards Prelios, was lodged at teh Company’s headquarters, in Milano at Viale Piero e Alberto Pirelli no. 25 and published on the website www.pirelli.com as well as at Borsa Italiana S.p.A.

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Pubblication of additions to the information document prepared in accordance with art. 5 of Consob’s Regluation no. 17221 of 12.3.2010 and the procedure for operations with related parties adopted by the Company

by Pirelli — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:40:03 +0000

Pirelli & C. states that today – at the request of Consob of May 9th, 2013 in accordance with art. 114, comma 4, of legislative decree no. 58/1998 – the following were deposited at the Company’s headquarters, in Milan at Viale Piero e Alberto Pirelli no. 25, published on the Company website www.pirelli.com as well as at Borsa Italiana S.p.A. – (i) addition to the Information Document – published on April 3rd, 2013 and prepared in accordance with Consob decision no. 17221 of March 12th, 2010 as subsequently modified and procedures for operations with related parties adopted by the Company – relative to Pirelli & C’s participation aimed at the asset reinforcement, financial rebalancing and industrial re-launch of the activities of Prelios S.p.A. through a recapitalization of the same and the re-modulation of its financial debt; (ii) the opinion of the legal expert charged with the evaluation of “possible qualifications regarding the nature of the credit of Pirelli & C. towards Prelios” (published in attachment to the addition to the Information Document)

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2013 Spanish Grand Prix – Race

by Pirelli — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:13:54 +0000

ALONSO PUSHES FROM START TO FINISH TO WIN HIS HOME GRAND PRIX

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso won his home grand prix using a four-stop sprint strategy, ahead of Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen who stopped three times. Alonso claimed his 32^nd win, which was his second at the Spanish Grand Prix, while his Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa claimed his first podium of the year despite starting from ninth on the grid following a penalty.

Alonso also set a new record by becoming the only driver to win the Spanish Grand Prix from a far down as fifth on the grid, demonstrating how tyre strategy can be used to gain track position. Raikkonen – who used a completely different strategy to Alonso with one stop less – nonetheless ran him close, finishing the race just 10 seconds behind the winner. Raikkonen was the only driver to complete three opening stints on the P Zero White medium before one final stint on the P Zero Orange hard.

As a result, the championship has now closed up considerably with the top three drivers covered by just 17 points.

All the drivers started on the P Zero White medium tyre with the exception of the two Marussias and the Caterham of Charles Pic, who elected to start on the P Zero Orange hard. An early stop for Ferrari allowed Alonso to get past the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel and from then on the Spaniard was able to plan his strategy perfectly in order not to lose track position.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “Strategy was again at the forefront of the Spanish Grand Prix, which as usual was very demanding on the tyres because of the unique characteristics of this circuit. This is why we saw high levels of degradation, which should not be seen again to this extent for the rest of the year. Our aim is to have between two and three stops at every race, so it’s clear that four is too many: in fact, it’s only happened once before, in Turkey during our first year in the sport. We’ll be looking to make some changes, in time for Silverstone, to make sure that we maintain our target and solve any issues rapidly. Congratulations to Fernando Alonso and Ferrari who pushed hard from start to finish to make the four-stop strategy work for them and seal a very popular result here. They planned their strategy from the start of the weekend, using the tyres wisely during qualifying, and then made it count with some fantastic overtaking moves.”

Fastest times of the day by compound:

	Medium	Hard	Intermediate	Wet
First	HUL – 1.26.586	GUT – 1.26.217	N/A	N/A
Second	WEB – 1.27.267	MAS – 1.26.394	N/A	N/A
Third	ALO – 1.27-440	SUT – 1.26.564	N/A	N/A

Longest stint of the race:

Medium	22 laps	V. Bottas
Hard	24 laps	C. Pic
Intermediate	N/A	N/A
Wet	N/A	N/A

Truth-O-Meter:

We predicted a three-stopper, but in fact Alonso went for a four-stop sprint strategy. He stopped for the first time on lap nine for the hard tyres, hard again on lap 21, medium on lap 36, and hard on lap 49. His team mate Felipe Massa adopted a similar strategy.

2013 Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying

by Pirelli — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:51:10 +0000

THREE-STOP RACE LIKELY IN SPAIN

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has clinched his third career pole position, ahead of his team mate Lewis Hamilton. Pole position was set on Pirelli’s P Zero White medium tyres, which have been nominated alongside the new P Zero Orange hard tyres this weekend.

Rosberg’s pole time of 1m20.718s on the medium compound was more than a second a half quicker than the 2012 pole position set by Williams driver Pastor Maldonado (1m22.285s) on last year’s soft, despite the fact that usage of the DRS was unlimited last season. Historically a strong qualifying performance is vital in Barcelona, as only once has the race been won from beyond the front row of the grid.

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa went quickest in the final free practice session this morning, sealing fastest time by just 0.006 seconds from Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen right at the end of the hour, using the medium compound.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “The teams had their preparation time for qualifying limited by wet weather yesterday morning, so there were still a number of question marks today. As expected we saw a considerable degree of track evolution, with this year’s pole time in Barcelona the fastest-ever since Pirelli came to Formula One in 2011. The teams have quickly got to grips with our latest evolution of the P Zero Orange hard, which should make it easier to maintain the tyres within the optimal working temperature range and so use a wider variety of strategies. With plenty of lateral energy through the rubber, an abrasive surface, and warm temperatures Barcelona is quite challenging for the tyres. We would expect to see three pit stops tomorrow – as was the case last year. The race has never been won from outside the front row, so it will be interesting to see if any drivers can reverse that trend through the use of strategy.”

The Pirelli mystery strategy predictor:

The fastest strategy for the 66-lap race seems set to be a three-stopper in Spain this weekend, as was the case last year. It goes as follows: start on the medium tyre, switch the medium on lap 16, medium again on lap 33 and a final stop for hard tyres on lap 50.

Alternatively, there is another effective three-stop strategy. Start on the medium tyre, switch to the medium on lap 17, switch to the hard on lap 34 and a final stint on the hard tyre from lap 50.

Fastest compounds in FP3:

1.	F. Massa	1m21.901s	Medium New
2.	K. Raikkonen	1m21.907s	Medium New
3.	M. Webber	1m22.044s	Medium New

Top 10 tyre use:

N. Rosberg	Medium New	1m20.718s
L. Hamilton	Medium New	1m20.972s
S. Vettel	Medium New	1m21.054s
K. Raikkonen	Medium New	1m21.177s
F. Alonso	Medium New	1m21.218s
F. Massa	Medium New	1m21.219s
R. Grosjean	Medium New	1m21.308s
M. Webber	Medium New	1m21.570s
S. Perez	Medium New	1m22.069s
P. Di Resta	Medium New	1m22.233s

PIRELLI: VITTORIO MALACALZA RESIGNS FROM BOARD

by Pirelli — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:07:24 +0000

PRELIOS OPERATION UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, ALSO WITH THE VOTE OF MR. VITTORIO MALACALZA

Pirelli & C. SpA announces that Mr. Vittorio Malacalza has tendered his resignation from the position of Deputy Chairman and Member of the Board.

In announcing his resignation, Mr. Malacalza indicated the following: “…I had noted that the formation of entrepreneurial decisions of importance in the life of the Company takes place in ways that do not allow me to make my contribution, as for example recently happened regarding the choices that were made with regard to Prelios”.

The Company, in taking stock of this statement, wishes to recall – as already announced to the market – that the Board of Directors of Pirelli had unanimously approved the operation of asset reinforcement and industrial re-launch of Prelios S.p.A. at the meeting of February 28^th, 2013.

Ahead of that meeting – with ample lead time (on February 23, 2013) and signaling – the following documents were made available to all board members:

-          Executive summary of the operation for the re-modulation of the financial debt connected to the industrial re-launch of Prelios;
-          Opinion of the Committee for Operations with Related Parties to the Board of Directors;
-          “Assessment letter” from Barclays on the operation in English accompanied by an Italian translation;

- Slides illustrating the operation.

At the aforementioned meeting, Deputy Chairman Malacalza had also taken part and voted in favour of the operation. The same Mr. Malacalza did not intervene during the relative discussion, not making any contribution or simply formulating questions of clarification for more information.

At the last Board of Directors meeting on May 7th, at which Mr. Malacalza was present, the Board was updated on the status of the operation. Not even on this occasion did Mr. Malcalalza take the opportunity to intervene.

In conclusion, more generally, it should be underlined that all the operations reviewed by the Board of Directors at meetings in which Mr. Malacalza took part were approved unanimously.

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2013 Spanish Grand Prix – Practice Sessions

by Pirelli — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:40:47 +0000

PIRELLI P ZERO WHITE MEDIUM TYRES FASTER
THAN THE 2012 P ZERO YELLOW SOFT AT BARCELONA

The first free practice session on Friday for the Spanish Grand Prix started in wet weather, meaning that teams were forced to concentrate their running in the final moments of FP1 and a dry FP2. At the end of FP2, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel topped the time sheets with a lap of 1m22.808s on the Pirelli P Zero White medium tyre, which has been nominated along with the P Zero Orange hard for Barcelona. This was significantly quicker than last year’s equivalent FP2 time (1m23.399s) set on the soft tyre.

A new version of the P Zero Orange hard tyre was introduced this weekend with a wider working temperature window. In addition, teams were also able to benefit from an extra set of experimental hard tyres per car for Friday only – as Pirelli is allowed to supply in accordance with the regulations.

The drivers ran mostly on the Cinturato Green intermediate tyres in the morning, using the experimental hard tyres in the final 15 minutes of the session, with the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa going first and second fastest. The cars continued to run on both the experimental and nominated hard tyres during FP2. Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne was the first driver to switch to the mediums half an hour into the second session, as the teams concentrated on race simulations in order to establish an optimal tyre strategy.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “The first race of the European season is always a significant one, with most of the teams introducing key upgrades. At Pirelli, we’re no exception, with the latest version of our hard tyres coming to Spain together with two sets of an experimental compound per team. Despite the rain in the morning, we saw plenty of running as the teams worked through their development programmes during both sessions, which was our objective. The rain meant that we don’t have a full set of dry data to analyse this evening, but the initial feedback from the drivers about the new hard tyre – which has a wider working temperature window – is extremely positive. There is still a lot of track evolution to come: so far we are seeing a difference of just under a second between the two compounds and high wear, which is to be expected on an aggressive track like Barcelona, but we would expect that to come down a bit over the rest of the weekend, which has a consequent effect on degradation. We’ll be able to make a more accurate prediction after the final free practice session and qualifying tomorrow. Obviously there was a problem in the final part of FP2 that affected the medium tyre on the Force India of Paul di Resta and we’re going to investigate the cause of that fully. Whatever the cause, this is not something we like to see and once we have established all the facts we will decide whether some further modifications to the tyres are required to help avoid this type of issue.”

Fastest tyre of the day:

FP1:			FP2:
1. Alonso	1m25.252s	Hard New	1. Vettel	1m22.808s	Medium New
2. Massa	1m25.455s	Hard New	2. Alonso	1m22.825s	Medium New
3. Vergne	1m25.667s	Hard New	3. Webber	1m22.891s	Medium New

Tyre statistics of the day:

	Medium	Hard	Intermediate	Wet
kms driven *	1596	2234	1149	27
sets used overall **	28	48	22	5
highest number of laps **	26	25	18	2

* The above number gives the total amount of kilometres driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.

May the Force be with you:

Max. g-force braking (longitudinal force): – 4.66 @ T1
Max. g-force cornering (lateral force): 4.43 @ T9

Pirelli facts of the day:

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel – who has led each one of this season’s four grands prix at some point – will score his 50^th podium in Formula One if he is in the top three on Sunday. Qualifying is vital though: the lowest grid position that the race has ever been won from is third (courtesy of Michael Schumacher in 1996).

Pirelli is the second-most prominent tyre company in Spain in terms of sales and brand recognition, while Pirelli is also the market leader in motorbike tyres.